Harvest 2019 may be far from over for some farmers in the upper Midwest, yet as the calendar flips to 2020, the market’s focus will shift to South America. If farmers are hoping for a market run fueled by imperfect weather in South America, some meteorologists say that may not be in the cards this winter. “The weather right now in South America is turning around,” says Drew Lerner of World Weather, Inc. “It looks very normal to me for...
Michael Stenzel is harvesting outside of Hamburg, Iowa. It’s a surprise after the spring he describes in one word. “Hell, plain and simple,” said Stenzel. Stenzel’s bins busted during March. They remain with the grain still there as well. “They are still sitting there, rotting, decaying and smelling,” said Stenzel. He is looking into federal disaster aid relief passed by Congress, but doesn’t know what he will get just yet. Stenzel said, “[The] payment limitation is $125,000. The way I figure it, I lost...
The Gulf Coast is bracing for impact from a storm that is likely to turn into a hurricane. Tropical Storm Barry could bring devastating flooding and test the limits of the Mississippi River's levees. Right now, authorities have suspended all ships entering and exiting the lower Mississippi River due to the storm, and nearly one-third of oil production in the Gulf. The storm brewing in the Gulf of Mexico presents twin troubles for parts of Southeast Louisiana. First, there's the...
If, and it’s a big if, weather cooperates farmers can plant corn and soybeans at breakneck speeds, according to a recent Farm Journal Pulse poll. We asked farmers how long it takes to plant their crops in perfect conditions and 42% said they could do it in under 10 days. Here’s the breakdown of answers: One to four days: 8% Five to nine days: 34% 10 or more days: 58% These results come in contrast to recent reports that suggest it would take two...
It comes as no surprise to farmers that planting progress is woefully behind the five-year average again this week. However, with only 30% of the corn planted, this could be the slowest start in recent history – and by a long shot. In their Crop Progress report for the week ending May 12, USDA on Monday noted that the nation’s corn crop is 36 percentage points behind the five-year average planting pace of 66%. At 11% planted, Illinois is 71%...
